U.S. stocks lifted by Powell comments

At the close of trading Thursday, the Dow Jones industrials were ahead 122.80 points or 0.51% at 24,001.92

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 11.68 points or 0.45% to 2,596.64

The U.S. dollar edged higher on Thursday, as it corrected recent losses

NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street marched on with another day of gains Thursday, despite profit warnings from American Airlines and Macy's.

More comments from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell reinforced the notion that Fed policy will be relaxed and flexible in the near time.

Macy's surprised with a near-18% drop after warning about its profitability in the first quarter. Other retailers too fell as a result of the report.

It was Powell's comments though that kept stocks on the boil, giving every indication the regulator will not be pushing up interest rates as aggressively as previously thought. Especially with inflation low and under control, we have the ability to be patient and watch patiently and carefully as we figure out which of these two narratives is going to be the story of 2019, Powell told an audience at the Economic Club of Washington on Thursday.

At the close of trading Thursday, the Dow Jones industrials were ahead 122.80 points or 0.51% at 24,001.92.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 11.68 points or 0.45% to 2,596.64.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 28.99 points or 0.42% to 6,986.07.

The U.S. dollar edged higher on Thursday, as it corrected recent losses. Around the New York close the euro had dropped to 1.1500.

The British pound slipped to 1.2746, while the Japanese yen was lower at 108.47.

The Swiss franc eased to 0.9846.

The Canadian dollar was little changed at 1.3238, as was the New Zealand dollar aty 0.6781.

The Australian dollar went against the trend, rising slightly to 0.7187.